Richard Scrushy Biography

Business Leader (c. 1952–)

Richard Scrushy is a business executive who founded and ran HealthSouth before corruption landed him in prison.

Synopsis

By 2001, Richard Scrushy’s HealthSouth had more than $4.3 billion in revenue and treated more than 100,000 patients a day, not only in the United States, but around the world. In 2005, Scrushy was indicted on charges of bribery and mail fraud in connection with former Alabama governor Don Siegelman. Scrushy was convicted on multiple charges and received a sentence close to seven years in prison.

Profile

Business executive and convict. Born Richard Marin Scrushy in August 1952 in Selma, Alabama. Richard Scrushy grew up attending Methodist church and working several jobs as a teenager. He graduated from Jefferson State Community College and became a Registered Respiratory Therapist after studying at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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Scrushy soon relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, to become the regional director of the respiratory therapy division at Lifemark Corporation. He then moved to Houston, Texas, to serve as the company's COO. In 1984, Scrushy realized his dream of creating a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility by founding Amcare in Little Rock, Arkansas. Amcare soon changed its name to Health South, and the highly successful company began public trading in 1986.

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By the end of 1987, after expanding into worker's compensation and sports medicine, HealthSouth had doubled its revenues and had nearly $100 million in assets. By 2001, HealthSouth had more than $4.3 billion in revenue and treated more than 100,000 patients a day, not only in the United States, but around the world. The company had over 60,000 employees and more than 2,000 locations across the country.

On June 28, 2005, Richard Scrushy was acquitted on 36 counts of fraud that occurred at HealthSouth. Four months later, Scrushy was indicted on new charges of bribery and mail fraud in connection with former Alabama governor Don Siegelman. Scrushy was accused of donating $500,000 to Siegelman's campaign in exchange for a seat on a state hospital regulatory board. Both Scrushy and Siegleman were convicted on multiple charges, including bribery, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice. Both received sentences of or close to seven years in prison.

In June 2009, Scrushy was ordered to pay approximately $2.9 billion to HealthSouth shareholders to settle a civil suit.

At present, Scrushy is serving his sentence at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont, Texas. He is married to Leslie Ann Jones and has nine children and five grandchildren.

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